Group urges those who “saw, suspected or suffered” clergy crimes to come forward

WHAT
As parishioners leave mass, clergy sex abuse victims and their loved ones will hand out fliers about two recently “outed” Michigan Catholic predator priests who have ties to Detroit. The leaflets will urge Detroit’s Catholic archbishop to
--- personally visit churches where either/both priest worked,
--- emphatically prod victims to come forward and call independent sources of help, and
--- permanently post on his website the names and whereabouts of all child molesting clerics who work/worked or live/live in the Detroit archdiocese.

The victims will encourage those who may have seen, suspected or suffered the pedophile priests’ crimes to speak up, get help, expose wrongdoers and start healing.

WHEN
Sunday, Aug. 29, at 11:30 a.m.

WHERE
Outside the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament, 9844 Woodward Avenue in Detroit

WHO
Three victims of sexual abuse by clerics and their supporters including a Toledo native who founded SNAP, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

VISUAL
Photo of the priests are at BishopAccountability.org. The group will hold signs & childhood photos.

WHY
On Wednesday, a Michigan man disclosed that he was molested as a child by a Catholic priest, who spent time in at least three Catholic dioceses (Detroit, Kalamazoo, and Lansing), Fr. John P. Slowey. And hours earlier, another Catholic priest was publicly “outed” as a credibly accused child molester when Lansing’s bishop admitted that he believes “at least a half-dozen boys” were abused by Fr. John P. Martin.

In the Slowey case, the anonymous victim just reached a $225,000 settlement with Lansing church officials. The abuse reportedly happened when he was five or six years old at St. Vincent’s orphanage in Lansing. The victim is represented by Lansing attorney David Middleman (517 372 1011, 517 290 0131 cell, dmittleman@churchwyble.com)

In the Martin case, over the past several months, Fr. Duaine Pamment of St. Isidore Catholic Church in Laingsburg has heard from at least six men who report having been molested as boys (between the ages of 11 - 17) by Martin. Lansing’s bishop finds them credible.

However, the Lansing bishop’s public relations man claims this is the only child sex abuse allegation against Slowey. SNAP is skeptical of that claim, and strongly suspects that others who were hurt by Slowey are “still suffering in shame, silence and self-blame.”

Martin was a priest in two Detroit area churches: Sacred Heart Parish in Yale (1923-1932) and St. Vincent’s in Detroit, which is now closed (1918-1923). He also coached baseball and swimming teams. Slowey attended Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit. According to one published obituary, Slowey also helped set up the Big Brothers program in Michigan.

There is no litigation involving Martin or Slowey that has or is being filed, as best SNAP can tell.

Martin died in 1968 and Slowey passed away in 1983. Martin’s abuse apparently happened primarily in the 1950s and 1960s, and Slowey’s was apparently in the 1950s. Both worked most of their careers in the Lansing area.

SNAP wants Detroit’s archbishop to personally go to each parish where either priest worked, even briefly, and urge victims to come forward, get help and call independent sources (like therapists, self help groups, etc.). As a public safety precaution, SNAP also wants Detroit’s archbishop to post on his website the identities and whereabouts of ALL proven, admitted and credibly accused child molesting clerics - living and dead, diocesan and religious order, those ordained here and those ordained elsewhere, and those in all religious positions (deacons, brothers, nuns, bishops, seminarians and lay workers). This is, SNAP is convinced, the quickest, cheapest and easiest step the archdiocese can and should take to help prevent future child sex crimes by known predators.

According to BishopAccountability.org, there are 51 publicly accused child molesting clerics in the Detroit archdiocese. SNAP believes that the actual number of alleged offenders is likely significantly higher in each diocese, because BA.org lists only those clerics against whom allegations have been lodge in the public domain – in civil lawsuits, criminal prosecution or news accounts.